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America gave the world the notion of the melting pot - an alchemical cooking device wherein diverse ethnic and religious groups voluntarily mix together, producing a new, American identity. And while critics may argue that the melting pot is a national myth, it has tenaciously informed the America's collective imagination.

From Ivan Krastev

Bulgaria has been deindustrialized by interest groups who extracted state assets like oil states extract the oil in their ground.

From Ivan Krastev

Transparency is not about restoring trust in institutions. Transparency is the politics of managing mistrust.

From Ivan Krastev

Regimes like the one in Russia are stabilized by the fact that they have no ideology. There is really no ideological means to attack them.

From Ivan Krastev

A more stable relationship between Poland and Russia based on reconciliation might revive the reunification of Europe.

From Ivan Krastev

Germany, because of the fact and the perception of a special relationship with Russia, is the only one who can influence Russian debate. Russians also believe that Germans understand them best because they've been through a big war and know what humiliation means.

From Ivan Krastev

For the European Union, Russia is as important politically and economically as China is to the U.S.

From Ivan Krastev

Authoritarianism is not pretending anymore to be a real alternative to democracy, but we can see many more authoritarian practices and styles basically being smuggled into democratic governments.

From Ivan Krastev

Democracy has always been in crisis: democracy is all about practicing the art of bearable dissatisfaction. In democratic societies, people often complain about their leaders and their institutions. The gap between the ideal democracy and the existing one cannot be bridged.

From Ivan Krastev

What makes me worry today is the alarming decline in the trust in democratic institutions - political parties, Parliaments, political leaders. Less and less people are going to the polls in most advanced democracies.

From Ivan Krastev

Ivan Krastev

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